the heart of the matter
by displayheartcode
Summary: The Library has some of its annual maintenance checked over by Wizards. [Crossover w/The Librarians]


**a/n:** Hello, Writer's Block, my old friend. . .

 **Disclaimer** : Ha. _Ha ha ha ha ha._

 **Title** : the heart of the matter

 **Words** : 785

 **Summary:** The Library has some of its annual maintenance checked over by Wizards.

* * *

"Wizardry," Jenkins says, pausing to fix his bowtie, "Is a form of science, to borrow loosely from Arthur C. Clark. One that we do not have access to Ms. Cillian." The addition is added with a stern glare at Cassandra's direction.

"But you've said before that if magic was exact, then it's science!" She crosses her arms over her chest. Her yellow-and-green striped sweater rivals the brightness of her hair and that of the Wizard Lights bobbing in the air. She points to the designs scrawled on the marble floor; the graceful matrix of blue-white words and symbols burn with a low light. "That right there is the formula for entropy."

"Entropy?" Stone came through the main entrance with a stack of books in his arms. "Mind tellin' me why we're talking about death?" He sees the diagram. "Cassandra, what have I told you about doing magic in this room? It does weird things to my laptop."

Eve is still at unease about the whole situation. She stands near the door with a worried expression on her face. "All you need to know is that we now have teenagers doing routine checkups for us."

Jenkins sighs. He turns to the wizards they called in earlier for maintenance. "Ms. Callahan and Mr. Rodriguez, I believe the floor is yours. If anyone needs me, I'll be nursing a new headache." He leaves the room as he complains about the petulance of today's youth.

Nita Callahan looks like an ordinary teenage girl with her olive-green jacket and the girlish charm bracelet on her wrist, but she is also holding a silver-white wand in her hand, drawing more of the strange words on the floor. Her partner Kit Rodriguez, a Hispanic boy of the same age, is consulting a book floating in midair.

Only Ezekiel is regarding this with normality. He munches happily on an apple, sitting cross-legged on the desk, goggles dangling from around his neck. "You're just jealous that someone got to math-a-magic before you dd."

"Children shouldn't play with magic—" But Eve stops herself.

"It's not like we made a pact with the Devil," Nita says. She stands up and pockets the wand in her jean pocket. An amused smile plays on her face. "Trust me when I say that It doesn't like us anymore than we like It back."

Kit makes a coughing sound to hide his laughter. "We know what we're doing."

The books in Stone's arms drop to the floor as a part of Nita's arm disappears in the air. She pulls back with her arm intact, and a beat-up library book in her hand. "What we do is science, math, and language, but on a very intimate level to help conserve energy. Like how the Library chooses you guys, people like Kit and I are chosen because of certain potential."

"Then we get the life-or-death test!" Kit adds happily. He turns the page of his book, and more words appear on the floor. "Wizardry comes with a price, but it's worth it."

"And it's up to children to pay that price?" asks Eve darkly.

"We make sacrifices all the time," Ezekiel reminds her. An unreadable expression crosses his face for a brief moment.

"Yeah, _We_ ," says Stone, coming to Eve's side, "Not children."

Nita meets Eve's gaze. "Even saints have to start somewhere. She blinks and returns to her book, frowning. "Does this look right, Kit? Powers That Be, I hate statistics."

Cassandra's expression brightens at the mention of more math.

Eve still isn't convinced. "You're children."

"And you're a soldier," says Kit. "You understand what it means to have a duty." He regards all of the Librarians, his eyes solemn. "We all fight our own wars in different ways."

Nita chimes in with what sounds like a quote, "I will put aside fear for courage and death for life, when it is right to do so." She looks again at her book. "Okay, Kit. I need you to double-check my equations for me -the Kernel keeps moving before I can even send my feelers out. _Huh_." She makes a dragging motion with her hand, and a glowing diagram of script appears in the air, words that are much similar to what's on the floor. "Weird. I haven't seen a Kernel like this anywhere before."

"Kernel?" Cassandra asks. She stands near Nita, squinting to understand what the strange words mean.

Kit, kneeling by the matrix on the floor, speaks up, "It's like an operating software."

Ezekiel and Stone exchange a look.

"Um."

 _"Well."_

"Can Kernels enjoy milkshakes?" Ezekiel swings his legs back and forth. "Hypothetically speaking, of course. Only in theory because it wasn't my fault, and I wasn't there to see it."


End file.
